Large-scale fabrication of free-standing and transparent SiC nanohole array with tailored structures

Abstract Fabrication of SiC nanoarrays is highly recommended owing to the fact that it is the key to push forward them being applied in optoelectronic devices. Nevertheless, majority of the reported works involving the growth of SiC low-dimensional nanostructures were often carried out under the harsh conditions (e.g., high temperatures and/or high pressures), which were teemed as the key obstacle for the accomplishment of their controllable and repeatable growth. In the current work, we reported the controllable and repeatable large-scale fabrication (up to centimeter×centimeter of width × length in area) of well-aligned, free-standing and transparent 4H-SiC nanohole arrays via anodic oxidation of SiC wafers at room temperature and atmospheric pressure conditions. It was discovered that the cycle period of the pulsed voltage played a crucial role in the formation of highly uniform nanohole arrays. In the meantime, the diameters, wall thickness and depth of the nanoholes could be modulated through the customization of the cycle times. Additionally, a possible mechanism was proposed for the formation of nanohole arrays.